Top-notch scientists who strive to publish, patent and ultimately translate their scientific findings from the laboratory bench to the patient’s bedside/plant, must be very talented in a wide variety of life science disciplines. Though, more than being a superb scientist, they also need to be skilled to put their findings in the picture at events such as lab meetings, seminars, workshops, etc. The simple reason therefore is that in fact any scientific breakthrough or technical achievement is only as good as the scientists’ ability to clearly and concisely explain and/or present its content to others in language they can understand (and relate to).

In modern life sciences, it is thus a prerequisite for embarking scientists to impress their colleagues, their boss, granting bodies and eventually the entire research community via spoken and/or written communications dealing with their research findings in such a way that the take home messages hit the scientific minds! Sounds easy, but in fact it is challenging to bring a scientific story in such a way that some years later the essence is still remembered for the good, instead of the bad reasons.

VIB is aware of the myriad of skills required to do so successfully and offers doctoral researchers and postdoctoral researchers the ability to participate in a four days training program that will give them concrete insights and guided practice to develop expert communication and presentation skills.